How To Improve The Taste Of Store-Bought Teriyaki Sauce With One Ingredient

Teriyaki sauce is one of those clutch ingredients that instantly infuses a punch of flavor into whatever you are cooking with its signature salty, sweet, and umami-rich taste. It's easy enough to make from scratch with the most basic version only needing three ingredients (soy, sugar, and rice wine or mirin), but it's even easier to grab a store-bought bottle to have on hand at all times.

There are many different brands of teriyaki sauce available, and some are better than others in terms of balancing the heavy soy flavor with sweetness and aromatics like garlic and ginger. But due to the fact that the sauce is produced to be shelf-stable and has a long expiration date, it will always lack the sharp, fresh zing of a homemade teriyaki. To bridge the gap between store-bought and homemade teriyaki sauce, you need just one ingredient: ginger. 

Adding fresh ginger to store-bought teriyaki sauce quickly perks up the deep flavors while also adding a gentle spicy, floral note. If the sauce already has ginger, adding some fresh will revive the slightly dulled, bottled flavor.

Ginger has deep culinary roots (pun intended) that go back thousands of years and it can be integrated into recipes in countless ways. If you are wondering how to add ginger to your teriyaki sauce, there are several methods depending on personal preference. The easiest way is to finely grate fresh ginger using a microplane, or similar style grater, and whisk into teriyaki sauce. It won't change the texture much but will impart flavor. Start with 1 teaspoon per 1/4 cup teriyaki, taste, and add more if desired. For a thicker sauce and stronger ginger flavor, simmer the sauce and grated ginger together until the sauce is reduced to a glaze consistency. Ginger has a thin skin that you can scrape off with a spoon, but if you are grating it, there is no need to peel it first.

If you like the crunch of fresh ginger, peel and finely chop a small piece, starting with a nub between 1/4 and 1/2-inch long. Similar to grated ginger, you can simply stir it into the sauce or simmer together to soften the ginger and thicken the consistency of the sauce. Either way, make sure your fresh ginger is firm with smooth skin. Wrinkled skin indicates the ginger has dried out and it can make the flavor bitter and the texture stringy.